


Beware The Jaws That Bite

by ShadowMystXII



Series: Path of the Fang [1]
Category: Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), Mad T Party Band
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Alternate Universe - Music, Angst, Band Family, Band Fic, Disney World & Disneyland, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Light Angst, Musicians, Not all that glitters is gold OR not all that bites is mean, Unwelcome Changes, Wicked cool entrance, blacklights and fog machines and sound effects oh my, people in charge have no idea, performing, some instincts are hard to kill but not as hard to kill as other things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 02:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18298322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMystXII/pseuds/ShadowMystXII
Summary: A normal night of performing is thrown into chaos when a dark figure threatens the ever-shifting sanity of the Mad T Party Band





	Beware The Jaws That Bite

Alice’s heart thumped in time to the muted bassline thudding from the hidden front of the stage. The dancing lights were a myriad multi-glow washing faintly over Tarrant’s face, muddling the colours of their costumes weirdly even as the Hatter’s eyes glinted with barely-contained excitement. One of his gangly arms snuck around her waist and Alice found herself twirling around as the Hatter danced to the techno beats Nivens was dishing out. **  
**

“30 seconds, guys!”

Alice waved to the stagehand to let them know she heard them before pulling her attention back to her partner.

“Did you hear him, Tarrant?”

“What’s that, Alice-My-Dear?”

“We’re on in 30 seconds.”

“Wonderful! Next set, next set!”

The woman laughed as Tarrant spun on his heel, her safely secured in his arms.

“Last set, Hatter! Last set of the night!”

The man stopped spinning, Alice sliding out of his grip to stagger slightly as she regained her footing.

“Last set?” His voice was so sad, Alice couldn’t help but smile gently and cupped his cheek.

“Of the night, dear. Tomorrow we’ll have more T.”

His face lit up again. Tarrant sandwiched her hand in both of his and pulled her against him. Alice tipped her head nearly all the way back to gaze up at the face hovering over hers. The man’s grin just below the hat brim was nigh-on Cheshire.

“Do you promise, My Alice?”

She fought the urge to bite her bottom lip against a surge of attraction.

“Ah. Ahum?”

Both singer’s heads snapped around to stare at the crew member standing a few feet away. The man clutched a clipboard and was trying to not stare at the entwined pair.

Alice swallowed the squeak in her voice. “Yes? Did we miss the cue?”

The man shook his head. “Ah. No, no, just about to go. But I was told to let you know, they’re intro’ing something new tonight. So when everything stops, they want you to stop too. The band has been informed. You’re on!”

Before either could react, Nivens’s voice filtered through the speakers.

“Welcome back your Mad Hatter and the lovely Alice!”

With a shared look of confusion, Tarrant yelped and tore off for the stage at a run, Alice’s hand firmly in his grasp.

* * *

Alice’s laughter was pulled from her throat as Tarrant spun her across the stage, barely missing Mally as he chased after Thackery. The Hare eyed the Dormouse and bounded away with a grin. Even Abs and Chessur were grooving as much as their stations allowed. The Mad T Party Band was full swing in their element as the crowds faded into the blinding coloured haze. Alice felt Tarrant’s arm loop around her waist again, felt him guide her through the lyrics and the chords as her voice reached out to join his in a harmonic, mesmerizing dance. 

The heady thumping of bass and drum pulsed in her breastbone, the sizzle of squealing guitar tingled the nerve endings in her fingers. Tarrant spun her out again and she pirouetted to find herself happily sandwiched between Mally and Thack as they joined the two singers. The four cavorted, twisting themselves as the people at their feet shrieked, reaching out for them. Together they laughed and bounced away from the grasping hordes, never missing a step, drinking in the madness as oxygen for starving lungs.

The crackle of dissipating energy shifted on the air as Mally drew a few last wailing notes from his guitar and the crowd erupted. The flounced edges of her bodice heaved as Alice gulped in a few draughts, the warm air making her head swim a bit with the glare of lights. She concentrated on smile and wave, dimly aware of Tarrant talking through his own need for breath. 

The man swaggered across the stage, slinging an arm over Thackery’s shoulders as the Hare stood at the stage front with Mally, the pair interacting with the giddy audience. A wide smile turned her lips as she watched the trio before glancing at the two men behind her. They met her eyes with equally happy looks, but she noticed a glance between them. Something about the look ticked something in her head.

_Wasn’t there something we were supposed to wait for—_

The lights went out, the entire Rabbit Hole plunged into pure darkness.

Everything in her told her to cry out. Her limbs immediately cramped as Alice forcibly locked her body still and brought her jaw together so hard she felt her teeth ache. She remembered now. The crew member. He had told them to stay still while the stage went dark.

The sudden lack of vision had made the crowd exclaim in surprise, and as the seconds ticked on, a low murmur started to grow. Alice jerked her head up as a rustle of cloth came from somewhere ahead of her. Through the nighttime gloom, she blinked and squinted, willing her sight to adjust faster. Straining, the woman could just make out three figures in the dark, and three very distinctive shapes that told her Mally, Thack, and Tarrant had also not moved.

The joy that had been coursing through her veins seconds before bled from her, evaporating like something was leeching it from her. She panicked, reaching for the last bright spark as it flickered in her chest. A cloying, clinging fear reached up and snuffed it out in a blink.

She couldn’t help it, something in her mind, a shrill insistent voice was suddenly screaming at her to  _get to Tarrant get to the boys something’s wrong **GET TO TARRANT!**_  Her lips parted as she took a wobbling step forward. She tried to will back the breathy sob that dropped from her mouth as she felt something cold and whispy curl up her legs, licking at her fingertips. The tall hat outlined against some vague distant light tilted sharply. The chill kissed the skin of her cheek and Alice petrified, her eyes closing so tightly she didn’t see Tarrant’s head snap around, looking for her.

The Hatter knew the Dormouse and Hare had heard the sound behind them at the same time. A soft, unmistakable noise only one person on that stage could have made. All three men stiffened as Tarrant’s head tilted sharply, listening. A charge passed between them, a piece of their minds flaring to life as their muscles kicked into a mode they’d had little use for in this world. 

Another soft gasp reached their ears and they moved in startling rhythm as Tarrant spun around, blazing gold eyes probing the blackness, Thackery and Mally pressing back to back behind him to make a triangular formation. To an untrained eye, it was no different from ways they had stood on the stage many times before - they knew better. A fighting stance is hard to forget when it’s as familiar as breathing.

Tarrant made to take a step when he felt the strange coolness lick across his left hand. He tipped his head down for a moment before swinging his arm in front of him. The chill parted and billowed, curling up around his shoulders and behind him. Mally growled under his breath at the stuff over the Hatter’s shoulder.

Again Tarrant made to move towards Alice.

A weird cackling laugh from the darkness made his blood freeze.

* * *

All six of them knew the exact instant  **something**  stepped foot on the stage. A wave of fog and cold roiled along the ground, nearly tangible. It swallowed them whole. Panic and hate clawed along their spines, drawing unbidden, shuddering breaths puffing in the air around their mouths. Thackery felt his ears twitch and tremble and squeezed his eyes shut to keep himself rooted. Mally’s hackles rose, twisting his face into a violent snarl hidden by the dark. Tarrant’s fingers spasmed, he had to strangle the urge to pull the false hat pins from his hat and wield them like daggers. 

Hidden behind his drums, Chessur hunkered down and willed himself into nothingness. Even as his body faded from view, he fought the urge to slither down and find their Mad leader, to fall into his everlasting role of espionage and deceit as The Cat. He eyed the man behind the keyboard. Absolem was hunched over, gripping the edges of the instrument as he swept murderous eyes over every inch of their stage haven.

When the Caterpillar’s eyes stopped moving, Chessur ‘s eyes followed. Without a word, without a sign, one by one, all five Underlanders turned their eyes towards the human woman frozen in the center of the stage. An eerie purple glow faded up to reveal a figure standing before Alice, hood up, a glowing purple violin dangling from their left hand. A sudden wash of UV glow revealed the scale pattern on the figure’s costume, and Tarrant had never been so glad the audience couldn’t see Alice’s terrified face crumple with the memories of a battle she couldn’t help but remember.

When the figure spun around and a purple-red spotlight appeared, a delighted gasp flared from the people below. Tarrant glared beneath his hat. Those people, those fools had no idea exactly what was standing on that stage before them. He didn’t even need to see the small wings mockingly affixed to the figure’s tiny backpack - it only served to deepen his shadowy frown.

The hood rose with sinister precision and the figure lunged toward the stage front. A delightedly startled scream went up and a wide array of fanged teeth appeared in the blacklight, a grin of immense threat. The wicked grin bobbed as the head lolled around and suddenly they were on the move.

The sound of held breath was erased as the figure’s bow met their instrument’s strings. Shivers abounded as hauntingly dark, sneering notes echoed across the hushed spaces. They drew note after chord as they slithered across the stage and halted in front of the keyboardist. Absolem refused to move or adjust his gaze from the spot the figure had appeared. The hood bobbed a moment, nodding, and took three low sliding steps right. Chessur followed them with his saucer eyes, watched them square up with his drums. He watched the hood move jerkily for a moment and a smug grin began to tilt across his mouth. His little trick never failed to impress.

The grin vanished when the hood snapped directly towards him and the terrible teeth grinned wider. The Cat felt his hair stand up and a low rumble reverberated in his chest. The figure tossed their head and bounced away. They never stopped playing.

The scaly being stalked across the stage, swaying and undulating their steps snake-like as they made for the trio at the front. Mally’s instinct to pounce was thwarted as Thackery dug his fingers into the Dormouse’s shirt while Tarrant’s hand wrapped around his wrist. The three stared down into the hood, recoiling at the grinning maw. But Tarrant found his gaze locked with a pair of red eyes tilting to bore deeper into his. The surprise of it rattled him, and belatedly he realized the distance he was looking down at the figure - the same distance he looked down at Alice. He didn’t realize his hand was lifting towards the hood until the grinning teeth frowned and the hood jerked out of his reach. He remained still, one hand hovering still, the terribleness of the moment starting to be shoved aside to make way for other just-as-bizarre thoughts. Distractedly he watched the violinist make for their last target.

Alice imagined there were ice crystals forming in her veins. There had to be, it was the only reasonable explanation for the freezing cold sensation traveling up from her toes. Her skin prickled as her hair stood on end at the sight of the bared fangs grinning at her from the hood’s dark depths. She couldn’t have run even if she tried, her eyes the only thing moving as the figure circled her, a predator sizing up its prey.

When it vanished behind her, she wanted to cry.  
When a puff of warm breath sent shivers across her neck, she wanted to faint.  
She wasn’t expecting a mouth to appear next to her ear.

_“Did you miss me, Champion?”_

This time when the stage went dark, Alice didn’t try to keep herself on her feet. Her knees buckled and she sagged. Two pairs of hands gently wrapped around her arms and kept her from wobbling as a third pair of arms curled around her waist to keep her upright. Neither Tarrant, Mally, or Thackery cared when light from the giant screens behind them revealed their sudden, new positions.

Excited screams made them glance over their shoulders. On the screens behind them floated an image of their Mad T Party stage but with a figure silhouetted in the foreground. With their back turned, it was easy to see the pair of wings. They could see the scales, and the waves of braided hair cascading around the figure’s face. This did nothing to hide the menacingly glowing red eye smirking over one shoulder. At the bottom floated too-cheery red-purple-black letters spelling out three chilling words.

 

* * *

The backstage doors shook the walls as they slammed open. Absolem spared the briefest glance at the deep gouges in the plaster as he trailed behind the rest of the band. Nobody else cared. They hadn’t felt anything for the past 13 minutes.

The band had barely finished their set and managed to  **not**  bolt off-stage as the digital image leered down at them. Absolem and Chessur had abandoned their posts to huddle with the others and try to keep the rising terror contained. Tarrant hadn’t released their blond songstress for a second while he quickly thanked the crowd and handed the Rabbit Hole reigns over to the Twins. As the group stumbled clumsily down the stage stairs, Nivens was nervously waiting for them.

He sought out Tarrant’s dark golden gaze and they shared a long look of infinite conversation. Mally and Thack stood shoulder to shoulder behind them during the exchange, the Dormouse trying to calm the Hare and vise versa, the Hare trying to keep the Dormouse’s fury in check. Chessur stepping in helped - the Cat was no stranger to riding the waves of emotion and he could taste the prickling shroud that had descended upon their little corner of the world. The look he gave Absolem could have filled a tome.

_Nobody knew this was coming._

For once the band did not tarry to greet loyal fans and share smiles and laughs and fuel the ever-burning T fires. Thack barely managed a faint wave and apologetic smile as the Underlanders bypassed the meet-and-greet area to stagger towards relative safety. As the sounds of the party faded behind them, their attentions shattered and zipped in all manner of direction. The most prominent thought amongst them, though they didn’t know it, was  _ **how could they have not known It was here?!**_

* * *

“Have you any remote inkling what exactly you’ve done??”

Alice took a hasty step forward but stopped herself. Tarrant’s eyes were flashing from acid green to molten gold so quickly it was making her eyes hurt. She shot a pleading look at Thackery. If they didn’t do something, the Mad Hatter was going to lay the entire Rabbit Hole to waste in his righteous fury.

Their stage manager didn’t seem to understand the immediate peril he was in. The man glanced up from a clipboard and gave the irate Hatter a self-pleased grin.

“Fantastic idea, don’t you think? Only a few months to set it all up, and just in time for the Halloween season! It’s gonna be a great parallel to Hallow T.”

The Underlanders paled. Alice facepalmed.

“A gimmick? It’s all a gimmick? Letting one of the most weird and dangerous creatures of all literature lose in the human world … for a show?!?” Tarrant’s voice was getting rougher by octaves, words tingeing heavily with his native brogue.

“I know, right? The perfect kind of scary element for a Disney park! The kids are gonna lose their minds. Which reminds me, introductions are in order. ”

Six pairs of manic eyes snapped across the room as something moved over at the makeup stations. A disgustingly familiar hood sat in front of a mirror, facing forward as if observing itself. The figure’s hands lifted and the hood was pushed back to fall limply across thin shoulders. A dark mass of braids and hair ornaments were instantly recognized from the promo image on the stage screens.

“Guys, meet Eirian Fang.”

Glinting red eyes blinked at them as the girl turned around in her chair.

Alice’s chest squeezed and she wondered how little breathing she could manage in an hour’s time before passing out.

Mally’s head canted down, casting his steely eyes in even deeper shadow as his fingers curled into claws.

Chessur’s teeth slotted together in a silent snarl, and he was glad Dinah and Nivens were keeping the party going outside.

Absolem fought to keep his expression schooled and neutral, but he couldn’t help a narrowed glare.

Thackery felt something in a dark corner of his mind twitch, and the shock of That being called to attention kept him from reacting too violently. Instead, he stepped away from Mally and to Alice’s side, keeping one eye on her and the other carefully trained on Tarrant.

The Hatter’s eyes were so molten they were nearly black with only golden flashes to speak the truth of his current state. He slowly pivoted on a heel to face the creature head-on.

“The Mad T Party’s new Jabberwock.”

Black gold met crimson. The fangs beneath the red eyes smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to drop a comment, I'd love to hear from you! ~


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